Friday, March 29, 2024

China offers Zambia $1bn for power project

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Jiang Chaoliang, President of the state-owned CBD

The China Development Bank (CDB) offered Tuesday to provide one billion dollars (787 million euros) for a planned hydroelectric station in Zambia and proposed a Chinese company to develop the project.

Jiang Chaoliang, President of the state-owned CBD, said Beijing-based Sinohydro Corporation, which has expressed interest in developing the 1.5-billion-dollar Kafue Gorge Lower power station, could bring valuable experience to the project.

“With the financial stature that CDB has and the rich experience of Sinohydro Power Corporation, we believe that we will be able to contribute to the alleviation of the bottlenecks Zambia is facing in terms of hydro power,” Jiang said during a visit to Zambia.

Construction on the 600-megawatt project, which is aimed at easing power outages in the poor southern African country, is due to begin next year.

[pullquote]”Because we are the ones that are in a hurry to develop, we shall move with the quickest speed to ensure that we access the funds from the CDB and the China-Africa Development Fund,” he said.[/pullquote]

Sinohydro is currently the contractor for Zambia’s Kariba North Bank extension hydro project, designed to add 360 megawatts of capacity to the 600-megawatt Kariba plant.

CDB has helped finance a raft of projects in Zambia, with outstanding loans totalling 112 million dollars. The Chinese bank has said it could provide financing of up to 1.4 billion dollars for various projects, including the one billion dollars for the Kafue Gorge station.

Kenneth Konga, Zambia’s minister of energy and water development, said Zambia needed to build more hydro-power capacity and would move quickly to tap the pledged funds from CDB.

“Because we are the ones that are in a hurry to develop, we shall move with the quickest speed to ensure that we access the funds from the CDB and the China-Africa Development Fund,” he said.

AFP

88 COMMENTS

  1. This guy will trip himself up running so fast for that loan!

    I’m not saying we shouldn’t take it, but please read the paperwork thoroughly before signing anything.

  2. Great report and all, that is a much needed power generation plant indeed. Only stock Musokotwana and Mutati should make clear and precise are terms of loan payments and logistics.

  3. white collar thieves, to the dull cabinet of Zambia, that is a good deal. to the chines government non of that $1b will get into any Zambian supplier or contractor not even workers if possible. everything will come from china even pain, nails, wires, labour even copper metal which is just a meter away from the project site will all be imported from china.
    try to accept their loan but reject there company to get the contract then check their reaction. get on with some company from south African and see how china will react to the loan. they will deny it to you. open your eyes you dull cabinet ministers sick presidents.

  4. I am wary that they want their own company to build the dam. I thought the Chinese were not the same as the former colonial master who used to give ‘tied aid.’ Why not provide the money and then put it to tender so that we can get the best deal for the cash? There are other countries with hydro-electric power construction experience in Africa. The Russians built Aswan High dam in Egypt, the Portuguese the Cabora-Bassa in Mozambique and of course our British Kariba. The Chinese have built mega dams recently, but their history on environmental and safety issues leaves much to be desired. Thanks for the money, but let us find the best deal!

  5. PLEASE, CHINA. NOT NOW!! WAIT TILL AFTER 2011 ELECTIONS. BECAUSE MOST OF IT, IF NOT WHOLE OF IT WILL GO INTO RB AND HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS’ POCKETS AND THE REST WILL BE USED FOR CAMPAIGNS. IF YOU GIVE THEM NOW, THEN YOU ARE ALSO UP TO NO GOOD.

  6. I am no exceptional. I agree with the comments above. The gvt must read the contract fully and understand its implications to the letter before endorsing it. Mostly, they should understand to what propotion it will benefit Zambia. They should understand its short and long term benefits. Moreover can the contract be to the public knowledge so that we know whats in the deal? Finally, can we have contributions from guy with electrical and electronics backgrounds as well as economist and the business fraternity to crown it all, please?

  7. Great! Put up a new hydro power plant, and then export all the power generated to South Africa, and finally channel the profits realized into the MMD coffers. Meanwhile, the tax-payer will somehow have to repay the debt to China. Or better still, beg for debt cancellation because are still a Highly Indebted Poor Country after all.

  8. This is great news. This will surely curb the power problems we are facing. If we even produce excess power, we can even export power therefore earning us some FOREX. Good news indeed.

    Zambia is a growing economy and power demand is rising.

  9. Kafupi; fantastic comment. If the Zambian government was serious, such opportunities would be led by professionals; not politicians. Capital projects have a capacity to create an economic multiplier effect only if the supply chain is well planned to ensure that only that which cannot be procured locally is imported. Meaning, steel, stones, timber, nails, labour, consumables and the like, have got to be planned for before accepting the loan. However, if politicians take charge, they will view the project as a “vote winning chance”; the result? A skewed cost of borrowing, shoddy works, with costly running costs in the end. As cost Engineer, my heartbreaks for Zambia!! Unfortunately we all cannot be politicians, so Good luck!!

  10. #13 Hydro-at what cost?….I cant put it any better than you have done…..we said my bro!…money paid to educate you was well spent!

    Nevertheless, I dont think our politicians dont understand what you said, I think they do coz its common sense BUT their main priority is not Zambia’s economical growth, but ‘whats in there for THEM’????

  11. Who is going to pay all this debt we are jumping about? Please God, help us. We cannot borrow ourselves to the grave. Why are we borrowing beyond our capabilities to repay? Why not have the Chinese just build this using the windfall profits they are making on our copper? After all the power plant they want is to power their mines. Please people, why are we allowing ourselves to be enslaved in such a manner? Even in marriage when the wife sees her husband borrowing like this, she will say something or leave him knowing that the end result of such borrowing will be disastrous.

  12. The Chinese are not stupid people like our GRZ. They know wot a gud thing they have with our corrupt leader and will drive this down our throats! Wake up people, I know agree with the red card campaign! SATA will be able to deal with them than RB is doing right now. Our country is being sold right now to the Chinese and the next will be that RB will be selling people to the Chinese. Worst still, he will be clearing land for the Chinese as they know exactly where the minerals are.

    Please guys, help us!

  13. Lest I am misunderstood let me it clear from the outset that I believe that any loan deal must be studied and negotiated for carefully. That is what government should and will do. Once again I want to give guidance to those who want to form an alternative government in 2011 so that they avoid the costly pitfalls of ignorance. Chinese money is fuelling the world economy. To give you just a few examples, the US government deficit is largely funded by Chinese money through mechanisms that you know as Treasury Bills. It is actually said that the US dollar would collapse if China took its money out of the US economy. The international banks borrow money from China to lend you and me and other people and businesses in the world. Familiar to you include our very own Barclays, Standard Chartered,

  14. With regard to Kafue Gorge lower hydro project, the IFC a private sector arm of the World Bank has started soliciting international money to fund the project, and a large chunk of that international money will be sourced from China and on-lent to Zambia via the private sector developers that the World Bank is promoting. Now here is a Chinese bank offering you manna, money directly to and you want to reject it but will accept it through costly and private sector middlemen, sharks, kaloba actually. For decades now we have failed to find the large amounts of money required for these projects. The World Bank would rather you borrowed through sharks. This must be sending shivers through their corridors.

  15. When we are supposed to be uniting to solve Zambia’s electricity shortfall otherwise known as load shedding, we want to play politics with our lives. The only explanation for these senseless reactions is sheer ignorance and that you want to reject the money all because you think it will shame you as critics of Rupiah Banda’s travels to China? Just where is our sense of patriotism? Where is our sense of shame? With regard to contractors, what is wrong with Sinohydro, a world class firm? All the roads that were rehabilitated in Lusaka under JICA were built by Japanese companies like Shimzu. In Iraq the Americans did not hide the fact that they wanted only American and their allies’ firms to be given contracts as a reward for fighting Saddam Hussein. What is the big deal here?

  16. What is the big deal here? They say “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”. Guys, manna from heaven comes in subtle form, those are the ways of God. And it was Jimmy Cliff who sang that “…opportunity only knocks once, grab it or you lose your chance….”. The reason why there are only a few millionaires in the world is that the rest of us cannot see opportunities. In Zambia, we spice that with ignorant politics in the name of change. Instead of thinking about solutions to our challenges or opening our to see such opportunities as the Chinese are presenting, we are busy wishing death upon each other, or telephoning the High Commission in RSA to confirm if our political opponents are indeed dead. Yaba, one may be forgiven if they thought that it is a shame to be a Zambian.

  17. Kalos2020, the chinese recently wiped off the TAZARA debt, developmet can only come with investment.Chinese are the only country in the world that can invest Billions in Z, the west do NOT have money. That grumpy complaining mode wil not help Zambia in any way. So will you be feeding on insults and complaining as PF?

  18. Ba red nose, who did I insult? Or is it that you just don’t know the meaning of the word insult? The Chinese did not wipe off the debt. He have in fact repaid the debt considering that we have been paying this debt from the first day we incurred it. It seems you don’t know how debt and interest works. We repaid this debt years ago, all we continued paying is interest on top of interest. You need to do some amortization and find out how much we have paid in relation to the actual debt we had on Tazara. In fact they made a killing considering that two countries were paying on the same debt.

    I hate to same this, you are such a dolt who want to twist a good conversation into a fight for nothing. Since I did not insult anyone, I will insult you. Nakutuka.

  19. Katie Good

    It is racism and xenophobia in the PF camp perpetrated by Mr. Sata’s anti-Chinese racist xenophobic rhetoric against Asian nationals all to win political mileage that is the reason that the PF camp is portraying gross ignorance to the fact that China has become a chief financier in the global economic space.

    China holds some of the largest us Treasury bills and bonds including various debt instruments. Here they offer a direct cash injection at possibly lower interest rates and conditionalities than the World Bank and the PF racism and xenophobia portrayed here cries foul. Speaks volumes that minorities rights will not be protected under a PF led govt.

  20. Okay, great deal, hopefully it will solve those notorious black-outs in Zed. On the other hand, let’s not forget one thing: Zambian employees. They must be first on the hiring list – starting from the very top, and working conditions should and must acceptable and be monitored by the govt. I’ve lived in China and I haven’t seen too many foreigners working where a Chinese person could do the job even better.

  21. Mr Capitalist – go back to China mukwai, “offers to provide” means what exactly? Can you spell it out for us please? What does it mean?

  22. we need to think. America has 300m and all of them have access to electricity and yet they have no hydro power stations. they say it is more expensive and its a waste of forests resulting in deforastation. to Zambia its the opposite. with $100m which is 10% of what we want to borrow, we can electrify all the schools, colleges, universities and farms in the country with solar panels. we are blessed with too much sun energy especially summer that we can save it even for two year if storage batteries are in place. we really don’t need this mess at the moment. Just give cheap plots with solar energy installation policy in every city and see how the reaction will be. ask china how many dams they have and do all their citzens use hydro power, hell no. so how do they survive?

  23. can someone please speak to this flicking cabinet minister that the world is no longer doing things with old fashioned mentality. what causes load shedding is mainly the way we use our electricity in africa. even at 14 hours street lights are on, at night all ministries have there lights on in the offices. the kind of bulbs we use is another issue. while countries from the west are going green with fluorescent tubes which take less energy, for us its the opposite. look at south Africa and Botswana, they only use electricity for lighting. cooking they go for gas. am beginning to believe that for real black may be dull. a chines comes with $10,000 and he is given incentives as an investor, a Zambia from outside comes back they ZRA cant sleep until they finish him up.

  24. kafupi

    The Korean business delegation which came to Zambia with plans to invest $130 million will involve some investments in Solar energy.

  25. @ #25 Red Card Sony Ericsson Phiri

    Talk to the hand =; By the way, I never said “offers to provide”. Quote me directly on this thread where I said “offers to provide”.

  26. Kalos2020, so if 2 countries are paying then to you that equates to paying off the debt. paying off the interest to you is not part of repayment. Very shallow minde PF cadre, cikala cobe, bwabe i ti

  27. Kalos2020, i’ve read your bloggs before and i know how st.upid and shallow you can be, do you have any balls? how big is your ar.se, i am getting ready to panel beat it.you must be full of cr.ap, big *****. i hope you die by tommorow choking on your gross self, polo yako

  28. Yaba! this smells trouble. If the government asked for a loan thats another issue to be debated later but if it’s unsolicited ‘help’ in form of a loan then RB and his team must for once put jokes aside and think through this $1bn york they posturing to put round our necks. Ok if these good guys think there’s so much hydro electric generation potential in Zambia why can’t they start their own hydro electric company and bear the risks and certainties themselves, why do they want us to underwrite their in investment in our country? Only bum lickers( haven’t mentioned anyone so dont reply) would jump at this colonial trick without giving it a second thought.

  29. Am happy that the new breed of Zambia can critically look at something and sport danger. The observations, most of you above have made on this issue, are well thought and true. I now know that Zambia will one day have progressive leaders who will turn its economy for the better of its people. Congrats all

  30. Katie Goods #s 17-20: Your analysis is good. Mr Capitalist #23: I personally think that anyone opposed to the loan is a “PF” fimo-fimo; though you are entitled to your comment. The real problem in Zambia is that politicians think they can do everything even though they are not qualified. History shows us that we have mismanaged a lot of money in the past. In fact, we need not go through the World Bank to initiate such a project. We have enough qualified Zambians, some of them working for the World bank, who would Engineer, Procure, Construct, and Operate the Plant, as profitably as possible, on a commercial basis! We do such work for international clients out-there! Yet in Zambia we think the “World bank is the solution”!

  31. We end up creating un-necessary layer of management. The World Bank, as a bank, is interested in making money, and create jobs for who? My personal observation, and I stand to be corrected, has been that capital projects have not been used in the best or strategic interest of Zambia. Secondly, the risks undertaken by our government indicate a serious lack of understanding the cost implications of political mediocrity in Zambia; this increases the cost of borrowing, because investors would go for the shorted pay back period with the highest possible rate of of return. PF, or MMD, UPND, these facts affect everyone. If you guys are close to politicians, tell them to separate “professionalism” from “politics”: Period.

  32. Bukabolala bwafula mu Zambia. You cant’t be trusted guys. Better bring in the Chinese to do things for you. A poor person no matter how intelligent he might be, he is still poor and no one can trust him. It is unfortunate. After 44 years we cant point at anything we have done. Look at the poor condition of roads. No improvement. Look at the electricity- we have water everywhere but we have no use. What country on earth is Zambia?

  33. Call us PF Kaponya’s and the like, it will not take away our freedom to show people the way forward, rather, shall we say, naba kaponya balajoba!

  34. #36: Ba Mwansa, the idea it not to bring an individual to “do the project alone”. But to get qualified Zambians to guide the government on what to do before they get the loan. The key word or sentence”supply chain planning”. So that we dont end up employing chinese consultants, chinese labourers, chinese sand, chinece cement, chinese cabbage, chinese water, everything chinese!. Not that I hate everything Chinese, rather, I would like see a massive project like that, help redistribute wealth (economic multiplier effect) to the villager who would able to supply tonnes of Sand; the women who would supply timber and or stones!. Thats how our friends use such projects “strategically” in their “national interest”.

  35. Iwe Hydro-at what cost? walanda bwino sana! Thanks for you comments and i cannot add anything. Let hopw our dull politicians are reading this and maybe take to RB.

    But ofcourse we have no faith in them(GRZ) and good luck to the people back home who will be paying for this loan fot the next 100 + years…..

  36. mr hydro at what cost
    Did get Miss katie Goody’s justification of bringing chinese laborors? She said even the americans are doing it in Iraq. Thats how s.t.u.p.i.d some people, who said Americans are angels and evrything they do is above board? Whats the point of getting such a huge amount of money to come and creat jobs for others.

  37. Katie & Hydro-at-what-cost have laid out their points very articulately arguing against just rushing to accept this loan or otherwise obtaining it from WB/IMF. We have Zambians who can articulate for favourable & advantageous terms to this loan. Yes, Sinohydro may take the lead, but down supply chain, it should be argued for greater involvement of Zambian suppliers & govt should support & facilitate this as bulk of their tax base is made up of Zambian enterprises & the poor souls in the civil service who make up the majority!!

  38. However, we should be careful that THEY DON’T PIN US DOWN on very CHEAP COPPER as a form of repayment. It will need to be at or near market value if they make very good concessions on the terms of the loan to us – we should be able to do this, as they obviously are looking for steady & longterm supply of resources!!

  39. #38 Thank you very much for your comments, I like this but the point I was trying to bring pansaka is the situation our politicians are pulling us into. We have intelligent people in the MMD government who can not think about the interests of this country. All they want is to get rich through dubious means. This is the reason why we cannot be trusted as Zambians. Our image is tarnished and all what the Chinese think about Zambia is a bunch of uneducated people who cannot do anything constuctive. It pains my heart to see Chinese nationals being given some projects by the Zambian government leaving out our qualified Zambians. Our government should be blamed for giving the platform to Chinese rather than Zambian. We cant sale Zambia just for electricity.

  40. ine ifi chitika pa Zed filambweshamo icimwela! everything is soo heart brealing. this investor diseases is too much mwe bantu.even putting light bulb u have to call on foreigners?.
    ifima minister’s twa kwata tafitontonkanya bunda bwaku ngolekesha fye ichalo

  41. # 31, Red Nose, you are a lunatic. So, the issue is how I have hurt your MMD party. How wonderful. I have to tell you this, I am way too advanced to respond to your madness. Probably your mirror will help you. Your rants have no place in mind. We argue points not people. You tried to lie that I was insulting, well the truth has been reviewed. Hope you feel ashamed of yourself when you face your friends if you have any. So, how satisfying is it to you to insult publicly? Is this some kind of an inborn thing? Where did you learn to insult instead of argue points? Is this how you settled argument or differences in your family? Wow, it seems your parents caught a dry one in you. I feel sorry for them having you as child. There is no pride in having you as a child to them. Uluse kubafyashi.

  42. Mr Capitalist I was quoting the article – “China has offered to provide”. I thought that since you are a friend of China you could explain the basis of the “offer to provide”. Since you are too dull to understand what I’m talking about I will let you rant about PF instead of answering a simple question

  43. Katie Good

    Great Marathon Post from #17 to #20 and I have nothing to add. Lets see those myopic people led by their 90 days economic miracle prophet called Satan debate you on your points and give us an alternative solution to fund the growing demand of energy in our country. Excellent post my dear

  44. Considering the damage that MMD has continued to do to the nation, it seems it will be a miracle to reverse the damage. The only solution is not to let them continue, but shorten their stay and abruptly stop them from the looting taking place in Zambia. There is no stealing any more in Zambia, but pure looting. And the looters are driven with flags on their cars to go looting. If Sata or HH takes over, he will find nothing but a shell of Zambia. What is happening is worse than what happened in Congo by Mobutu or CAR by Bokassa. Zambia is gone to the cleaners.

  45. … According to Dead Aid, us africans are treated as infants who cannot take care of themselves. China is just being careful by givin Zed the loan and picking its own contractor. By not depending on unreliable africans, they can guarantee that the project will start and finish on time – just have a look at the Olympic Stadium, who even knew it was under construction? We are a rapidly growing economy; and we need the additional power. In the meantime, we can set up better distribution networks, start thinking of creative ways of using power, such as electric cars — yes, zed could pioneer this and move away from fuel dependency.

  46. Bloggers on this sight are typical Zambians, Where we dont look at, how important an issue is? But rather who is doing it? We dont vote on merit, but on tribe and personality, personality and courage to Zambians means he who can insult those in authority without fear. Its a shame.

    We need to change our mind set and ask for wisdom from GOD above.
    Who won the sickness debate btwn SATA and KUNDA what has it brought to Zambia and all Zambians.

  47. I am quit skeptical about this Hydro story. Looking back into history these are some projects that become “white elephants” after parties have either been elected in or out. Why plan such projects towards the end of your term of office? Call me s.i.l.l.y or whatever but It sounds dodgy and dirty to me[-(

  48. Kafupi @ 3.What you are suggesting is not new.Almost all donated money to the third world has always come with conditons and some of them so stringent.But what can poor third world countries with their citizenry who not enterprising and also not innovative like you resort to? Unlike South Africa,Zambia is no where in terms of technological development.What do you make out of copper if not the cables from ZAMEFA? Even engineers.The ones you have cannot be likened to the ones the Chinese have.You fail even to produce wooden ice cream spoons …..

  49. MMD Chief Bootlicker and Katie Good We shall stop writing on this blog so that you may feed us with your cheap propaganda! In your view MMD make no mistakes and don’t want those mistakes to be corrected! You have seen this morning the British Prime Minister and his deputy provide a united front. Even the foreign, defence and some policies will not necessarily change. However, if you compare M Mulongoti (who even failed to run his four-bedroomed guesthouse in Kabulonga), as Kavindele said yesterday and G. Lubinda (who even beat upstart GBM) in any principal!
    I don’t know what MMD will achieve even after 20 years in power after 2011? This is the beginning of the end! Watch this space……….

  50. This is cetainly good idea. We need more of such investment. I can only hope the loans conditions are favourable. Its time we stopped talking all bout the hydro power potential and made use of it. This is certainly an opportunity

  51. lol this is how far this hydro project goes. You will never hear about it again. Only a naive person can believe this bull…..:-@

  52. The above 2 mentioned muli fipuba mu fitwe fyenu. u dont have what it takes to be called CITIZENS of this country. Why are u intimidating an innocent person, the person who is saying the truth. You are very dull just like your so called abalemituma. I thought you are wise bane now i know and prove that muli fipuba sana. Why this dullness? Please icindikeni…..What good can the so called chinese bring to Zambia anyway? Whatever it is called, it will do nothing to the people Zambia and the govt of Zambia is just digging its own grave.

  53. Energy is a neccessary pre-requisite for driving economic output and ultimately growth. It is crucial for our Mining, Tourism and Agricultural sectors. In this regard its important that the government is looking at this sector.

    My only concern is that we might be saddled with a huge, high interest earning loan that will put us back in shackles. Can we not try and get this money through any of our so called co-operating partners?

    Aid with strings attached is not good for the country ( Have we already forgotten Dambisa Moyos “Dead Aid? ). The Chinese are using a Chinese company to do all the work. Can we not make sure some of this trickles down to our local industries?

  54. Simon, great thinkinh. The problem is where the co operting partners are not coming forth. And right now the copersting partners are insisting that zambia sets cost reflective tariffs. on the use of a foreighn firm, i am sure that is a conditionality, actually all the partners norally have such a clause. And truley speaking we dont have any zambian firms which have the experience in such projects considering we last built a hydro power station ages ago. But the goverment should indeed look for a way of giving zambians some of the smaller contracts .

  55. We have wind energy now.amenshi will dry soon.Wind will remain.Dull Chaps.We are the dullest on the continent.Dull selfish and stupid gv

  56. This is ok and good news for Zambia.

    Katie Good. Thanks for you contributions. Excellent.

    There’s a lot of ignorance in some blogs above. Hope they are learning from those enlightened.

    The Chinese are the game in town. They are the only ones with money. No problem with them nominating their company. Look at Kapoko and ministry of Health. Zambians like stealing money, whther they are educated or not. Look at local contractors. If I was the bank, I would do the same.

  57. #58 Simon

    One way of addressing teh concern of us being saddled with huge debt is by making sure that the hydro power plant is run economically and profitably so that it pays for itself. This is proper business sense.

    The biggest problem we have in Zambia is that we dont run enterprises like a business. E.g electricity tariffs are so low that it would take you 50 yrs to break even. We must raise these tariffs, painful as it may be, so that the industry can make a profit to invest in further power plansta nd distribution networks. Cheap things are good but they are difficukt to sustain. That’s why we have power cuts now. We must bite the bullet and raise tariffs for our children to live in a Zambia without power cuts.

  58. lending you back your own Money from your own Copper so that more copper can be produced and exported ! ” a man who does not use his brain will always be a slave to a man who uses his brain”:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

  59. #60 Mwabo

    Good suggestion. Kindly educate us more about tapping wind energy and any other alternative energy sources. Do you have examples of countries where these sources are being exploited. how did they do it so that Zambia can learn from them. What does it cost. Who invests into these, is it govt or private companies, or both.

    Further, what are the difficulties other countries are facing in pursuing wind energy. As a fellow Zambian and an engineer for 1st degree, I would very like to learn from you.

  60. mwabo – mwila, if wind energy was the solution then why arent other clever african countries using it. Hey why dont you use it on your farm or at your house. Take time to research and you will find that the wind speeds in Zambia may not make it commercially viable. If it was so easy, everyone would have wind energy. Private firms would go to all their districts that are not on the grid and supply. You clearly have a lot to learn about management

  61. After going through all the postings by bloggers on this issue.I find everyone is agreeing that the idea is good and long overdue whether opposition or ruling.The main concern is we dont not trust our system to deliver good returns from such investments that can benefit the country.This basically means our leaders have alot of work to do to convince our people that if such huge investments are made in their name they will benefit them.With abuses that are reported by the Auditor general in our ministries and other government departments ,it will take a miracle to convince everyone this money will benefit anyone in zambia apart from just China and its Exagerated GDP which is being driven by econimies such as zambia.No ex-prisoners pushing wheel borrows from china on site please .

  62. At what cost is this funding coming to us????:-? Am I wrong in assumming that they know the pontential of our resources and they need ad much power to get it out in form or raw materials. Or is it that they are looking for other forms of payment such as full control of our most valued resources?? As # 42 stated, we have to assess what the future holds for us in this deal, great as it may be for our sake.

  63. #68 Nakabalika

    Is it possible for Zambians to petition their respective MP to ask teh Govt on their behalf questions being asked here. E.g what will this loan cost Zambians, what is in it for Zambian workers and contractors etc.

    Here in the UK, MPs are servants of the people who elected them. You ca pick up a phone and call their office. You can leave a message and they call you back. You can present them with whatever is on your mind.

  64. This is very possible as MPs pa Zed are elected to represent their constituents. However, our main problem is the inability by these MPs to hold forums and discuss such important issues with their employers(masses) and then raise the matters in parly. If you ask me, observation of most MPs will show that they are present in person and not mind when they attend parly business.

  65. The Chinese knows what they want to achieve from the project. Why give money to people that you know for sure can not make good plans out of it. At one time Zambian Govt. borrowed Billions of Dollars to construct a Road across the Zambezi river to Kalabo. What happened to the Kuwait Contructor who was contructed by the Government? He run away after constructing Sand Dunes in the flood plain. Therefore, how do we expect the Chinese guys to give us alternatives as to who should build the Hydro-Power Station if they know the calibre of our cabinet. PUT THE MONEY WERE THE MOUTH IS…Good Chinese Thinking.

  66. #70 Nakabalika

    Thanks for that. No wonder here in the UK they want to introduce a practice where voters can call their MP back if they are disatisfied. We need similar progressive thinking in Zambia. The current system where you vote in an MP and he disappears only to reappear for next elections is not good enough.

  67. Ndeyipushako?Who will be running this power generation station Hopefully not Zesco Balya Saana Bash***********t.They have Enjoyed the monoploy lets the Hugintau team come as an independent team

  68. Not impressed. C’mon, boys and girls, think about this: what are the real terms of the loan? What’s China’s real motive behind this? What are we really gaining from it? Do we really need this project? What’ll our consumtion and regional needs be in years to come? What are the alternative sources of emergy at our disposal vis a vis this massive dollar indebtedness? How about neocolonialism? Is this best source for these dollars? Are we capable of managing what we already got? Where’s the Windfall Act? Cry, Beloved Mother Zambia.

  69. “Poor southern African country” my foot! Poor by choice. We have what very few countries have in the region – abundant water, rich soils and minerals. Are we still under streetboy Kafupi?

  70. How much total has this government borrowed in two years? Please let us see the total- where that money is going, for we do not see anything, except someone flying all over…
    This is not the time for more borrowing- how much in the red are we just under this president?

  71. Our best times are coming soon why dont we all, who comment on this blog meet up in Zambia and discuss the future of our nation before it goes to the ‘dogs’. I mean though we have different opinions but we all want a Zambia that can utilize its resources for the better of its people how about each posting there email addresses and see where it goes from here. I will start if someone responds to this. Regards all Zambian loving Citizens

  72. Wilson borrowing is a nesscary evil especially for a country like Zambia that lacks infrastructure, finances and has pipo living in dire poverty

  73. :d/ thelusakapaper point com great place to spend time. Brilliant rival to LT! Hooray to multi choice!

  74. thelusakapaper bot com google it. Great reading. Brilliant alternative to LT. Drop the zero and run away with the hero thelusakapaper dot c o m

  75. 45 and 57, you had a field day with your empty skulls, i am back, i have data on both of you. Kalos2020, you crack head, if you want to progress in life stop messing with blogging you dont make any sense. 51, there is no treatment for your illness unfortunately you will perish with your dullness.

  76. Only fools can find this deal to be great news! Some bank in china lends you money and they tell you that they will find a CHINESE firm to do the work, guess what, the chinese are only finiding contracts for their fellow chinese and the s.tupid government officials think that is a great deal. NON OF THAT MONEY WILL EVER SEE THE INSIDE OF THE ZAMBIAN BORDERS, that money is not necessarily being invested in Zambia, wake up people! Why cant the government get that money and contract Zambian engineering companies to build that power plant, in turn creating jobs and wealth in Zambia. And dont say we cant build one as Zambians, if the Chinese can do it why cant you! Get all electrial, civil and Mechanical engineers in Zambia put them together and let them desing and build the plant

  77. That ‘borrowing’ is “a necessary evil”. Really…? Was it necessary initially to ‘borrow’ and bury posterity under $7bn? Way beyond any means to repay? Where did that money go…
    Not to mince words, why not simply answer the Question? How much in the red has this traveller and frequent flier of a president put us in just two years? Just answer that…. then you can introduce what machinations you will….
    Whereas I might be brought to agree- if we had a secure system or framework of government, not where all those billions are basically in the control of one frequent flier, ’tis particulary Dangerous to take on more debt, the results (which you and me will be responsible to repay) of which may conveniently be vacated should there be a shift of power to a newer frequent flier!

  78. This project was studied by Sino Hydro about 4 years ago.

    Then world bank hijacked it and said they would fund it.

    Then credit crunch hit and world bank pulled out.

    Now its back to Sino Hydro to implement.

    Should have stuck to Sino Hydro in the first place.

    Well done RB!

  79. # 81, You are really a numb skull. You seem to be lost in your hate for people who have better brains than you will ever have in your entire family. You stated that we had a field day, yes we had a field day. But it seems like you are actually in the field, poppy field in Afghanistan. Your behavior is worse than that of the Taliban. Tell us what your problem is. Did you look in the mirror and asked that croc you saw what its problem was? Next time you vis to check doctor, if you can afford one, ask him/her to check if there is anything between your ears. Probably they can implant a monkey’s.

  80. At the end of the day, if such a project were to be contracted, the MMD government may not be the one to see it to its conclusion. It takes no less than 10 years to build a dam. This kind of announcement should have been made to the people’s representatives in parliament and not the media. Govt here is wrong. A loan of this magnitude will take years to repay and another party may be the one to see it to its conclusion.

  81. Red Nose and Kalos2020.
    How much did TAZARA cost? As far as I can remember it cost Zambia $200m (out of $500m). The loan was interest free for 20 years. This means that we were to start paying interest if not settled by 1995. Is that correct? China has now cancelled that part of the loan.

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